Conventionally, some image sensing apparatuses such as a digital still camera, digital video camera, and the like can be remotely controlled by remote controllers via wireless communications that exploit infrared rays or radio waves.
A remote controller for such conventional image sensing apparatus is disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 5-72608, 2001-275030, 10-274802, and 2000-19629.
According to a device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-72608, a sensed image can be visually confirmed on the display of a remote controller, and whether or not an image sensing operation is actually done can be confirmed based on, e.g., flash light.
On the other hand, according to a device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-275030, whether or not an image sensing operation is actually done, image sensing information indicating if the memory/battery capacity is insufficient, a current composition, whether or not an image sensing operation can be normally done, and so forth can be confirmed on the side of a remote controller.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-274802, upon receiving a self-timer shot instruction, a remote controller plays back a voice recorded in advance, and sends a release signal to an image sensing apparatus upon completion of this playback. The image sensing apparatus senses an image in response to that release signal, and sends an end signal to the remote controller upon completion of the image sensing operation. Upon reception of the end signal, the remote controller plays back a message that announces the end of the image sensing operation.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-19629 discloses a system in which when a remote controller issues a self-timer shot instruction to an image sensing apparatus, the image sensing apparatus that received the instruction transmits a timing signal to the remote controller at given time intervals. In this system, the remote controller bleeps every time it receives a timing signal, and then beeps for a long tone generation time upon reception of a predetermined number of timing signals (corresponding to a release wait time of the image sensing apparatus), thus notifying the user of release.
However, there is no conventional technique that allows the user to accurately confirm, on the remote controller side, the release (image sensing) timing of the image sensing apparatus side, i.e., the wait time until image sensing upon sensing an image using a so-called self timer or the like.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 5-72608 and 2001-275030 have no means that allow the user to confirm, on the remote controller side, the release (image sensing) timing of the image sensing apparatus side, i.e., the wait time until image sensing upon sensing an image using a so-called self timer or the like. In the method of notifying the release timing of the image sensing apparatus by flash light, electric power is consequently wasted to emit flash light. On the other hand, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-274802, an image sensing operation does not actually start unless a release signal from the remote controller reaches the image sensing apparatus, even after completion of playback of a self-timer voice. Also, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-19629, since identical bleep tones are generated until the last beep tone indicating the end of the release wait time is generated, the user who has already experienced several image sensing operations using a self timer only knows the number of bleep tones generated until the last beep tone is generated, and it is difficult to determine the timing until actual release, resulting in poor usability.
For this reason, for example, if there are many objects upon taking a ceremonial photo, some objects may close eyes or look away at the image sensing timing. In the method of notifying the release timing of the image sensing apparatus by emitting flash light, electric power is consequently wasted to emit flash light. Furthermore, in the method of audibly notifying the release timing on the image sensing apparatus side, an object cannot hear tones generated by the image sensing apparatus in a noisy environment. Also, there is no technique that notifies the user of a release timing while monitoring an image to be sensed, resulting in poor usability.